“I wrote and recorded Heart To Heart as a message to my fellow Beings to remember that the essential quality of our nature was made divine, as one race, governed by one world. We must abandon the perception that we are made to exist independently, therefore, not unified, divided by selfishness, creating greed to fulfill our quest for survival,” explains the multi-platinum selling, chart-topping and Grammy award-winning guitarist Norman Brown. Norman whose love affair with the guitar began at age eight was dubbed by George Benson as “one of the greatest and most articulate guitarists out there.” Brown’s charisma and versatility has afforded him the opportunity to collaborate with a cross-section of Jazz and R&B stars including George Benson, Brian McKnight, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Lorber, Miki Howard, Gerald Albright, Rick Braun, Peabo Bryson, and Chanté Moore, to name a few.
JazzTimes Magazine touts that the Shreveport, LA born and Kansas City, KS raised guitarist is “a culmination of Jimi Hendrix and George Benson with some of Wes Montgomery thrown in.” AllMusic raves that Brown is one of “contemporary jazz’s brightest lights…a master player and improviser.” Udiscover Music named Norman Brown in the top “50 Best Jazz Guitarists of All Time.” At a time where there is so much divisiveness, Norman Brown asks each of us to search within to recognize our own divine light and to receive the divine wisdom that surrounds us every day. “All of us are made from the same source making us interconnected, interrelated and therefore interdependent,” shares the Atlanta based musician. “We have to exchange love, Heart To Heart in order to achieve world salvation and loving peace on earth.” At the core of Brown’s work based on the principles of universal law, wisdom from the Ancient Egyptian Spiritual System “The Paut Neteru Of Anu,” The Tree of Life which focuses on peace, truth, balance, order, harmony, morality and justice. Brown’s spiritual way of being is undoubtedly an attribute that has endeared him to an ever-growing and devoted fan-base. He affectionately calls his fans Normantics!
On August 7, 2020, Shanachie Entertainment will release Heart To Heart, Norman Brown’s 12th recording as a leader and third for the label. Shanachie Entertainment VP of Jazz A&R, Danny Weiss, states, “At the risk of being blasphemous, Norman is the true successor to Wes Montgomery and George Benson. Like them, he’s a jazz musician of the highest order, but you hardly notice because you’re having so much fun listening to him.” Heart To Heart is a gorgeous collection of originals composed by Brown and various album personnel, that fuse the best elements of Jazz, R&B, Pop, Blues and beyond. It is a soul-stirring and heart-warming journey fitting for this time of uncertainly. The introspective guitarist says, “We have been given the golden opportunity of having the Earth stop. We all have wanted to stop the grind and catch our breath, refresh our thoughts and learn something new. This halting of everything is really the silver lining and an opportunity to find our ‘Master Key’ to the rich quality this life blesses us to experience.” Continue reading →